Officials: City employee embezzled $5,000

A city employee pocketed more than $5,000 in payments made by residents last year, city officials said Wednesday.

By James Postjpost@the-leader.com

A city employee pocketed more than $5,000 in payments made by residents last year, city officials said Wednesday.

In a joint press conference, City Manager Mark Ryckman, Police Chief Sal Trentanelli and Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker announced that Stephanie Burlew, 33, of Corning, who was a senior account clerk in the city’s finance department, had been charged with third-degree grand larceny, a class D felony.

Ryckman said Burlew worked for the city from August 2012 until Oct. 25, 2013.

“Our finance director, Linn Smith, while Ms. Burlew was out on leave (in October), noticed some discrepancies with transactions,” he said.He said the suspicious transactions were largely cash payments for code enforcement fees and parking permits.

Baker credited Smith with noticing the discrepancies so soon.

“This was a pretty quick catch,” he said.

Trentanelli also noted that the amount allegedly taken before the missing funds were discovered was “relatively low” compared to some other recent cases of municipal theft.

Baker said the nature of the payments that were allegedly stolen was such that the residents who made them wouldn’t have noticed a problem, like a late payment notice or service shutoff.

It was the city that ultimately lost money, he said.

Ryckman said the concerns were referred to law enforcement Nov. 6, 2013.

An investigation began immediately, according to Baker.

Burlew never returned to work after she left on leave in October and suspicions arose, Ryckman said.

The state Comptroller’s Office assisted in the investigation.

“They have expertise we don’t have,” Baker said, noting that the state Comptroller’s Office employs forensic accountants who specialize in analyzing financial records.

He said it soon became clear that “felony-level” money was missing.

The total that was allegedly stolen was $5,064, over a period of about two months starting in August 2013.

Burlew turned herself in immediately after the charge was filed.

In the wake of the investigation, Ryckman said the state Comptroller’s Office recommended some changes in city operations to make similar incidents less likely.

He said the recommendations include computer upgrades and changes to the way duties are divided among staff at the city offices.

Baker said while it’s good that the city will soon have stronger cash controls in place, it’s difficult to prevent every theft of this type.

He said employers have to trust people to do certain jobs, and “sometimes trust gets abused.”

In a statement, DiNapoli praised city police and Baker for their role in the investigation.

“I‘m dismayed that we continue to uncover local officials who take advantage of their position to steal taxpayer money,” DiNapoli said. “I commend the City of Corning police department and District Attorney Baker for working closely with my staff to make sure this individual is held accountable for her actions.”